31 Interview Questions to Ask Before Making Your Next Hire

Hiring people with the right technical skills? It may not necessarily be easy, but it’s certainly routine. Hiring people who are going to do right by my clients and employees? That’s even tougher. There’s no perfect way to predict whether you’re about to hire a dud or a rock star in this regard, but there are questions you can ask during the interview process that will help you gain some valuable insights.

A great interview question forces the candidate to think, pushes them out of their comfort zone, and reveals things you couldn’t find on their resume. Below, I’ve gathered 31 interview questions you can use to help sort the duds from the rock stars.

Not only will this help you get the real scoop, but it will also help you practice active listening. It’s hard to ask good follow-up questions if you’ve spent the last 20 minutes wondering whether you left the garage door open instead of paying attention to your candidate’s answers.

Give the Candidate the Chance to Revisit Important Areas

We’ve all been there: kicking ourselves after the interview because we came up with the perfect answer to a question after the conversation had ended. Save your applicant this drama by asking multiple questions about important areas. Give them a second chance at crafting that job-winning answer.

Get Comfortable With Silence

Chatterboxing your way through an interview is a surefire way to miss important details and drown out your candidate, so quit it. Plus, when the candidate has to talk to fill the silence, it gives you a chance to learn more than you might have if you had jumped right in yourself.

31 Interview Questions to Help You Find Your Next Rock Star

What appeals to you about this company/role?

What does ‘marketing’ mean to you?

Name a time when marketing or advertising has influenced you.

Tell me about a time when you received poor service.

How did you resolve this situation?

Tell me about a time when you were really proud of your work.

Have you ever had an unfair boss or teacher? Can you explain what happened and how you resolved the situation?

Would you change how you handled that situation if it happened today? How so?

Tell me about a time when you received negative feedback. What did you learn?

When you’ve received praise in the past, what have you done with that information?

Who do you most admire in this line of work?

Have you ever had to say “no” to a work request? Why and how did you do it?

What is your response when you don’t know the answer to a question?

How do you approach learning a new skill?

Have you ever had to teach a new skill to someone else? How do you teach?

Give me an example of a time you had to use your judgment instead of a policy book.

Have you ever been involved in a PR disaster? What was it? How did you handle it?

Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting industry. She leads Red Branch Media, an agency offering marketing strategy and content development. A consistent advocate of next generation marketing techniques, Hogan has built successful online communities, deployed brand strategies in both the B2B and B2C sectors, and been a prolific contributor of thought leadership in the global recruitment and talent space. Hogan speaks and writes on all career and workforce related subjects. Her clients include Fortune 500 companies and SMBs around the globe. Red Branch Media was formed in 2006 as a simple consultancy. Today, the firm is a full-service B2B Marketing Agency that serves clients in the U.K., Africa, China, Israel, Europe and North America. Primarily focused on the Human Resources and Global Workforce vendors, Red Branch Media handles clients of all shapes and sizes. Google+ Profile